Spain was once thrashed by Japan for the final tally of 4-0. Imagining this team’s climb to the final lap of the FIFA Women’s World Cup was unimaginable, considering that loss came in the group stage of the 9th edition of the global tournament. Spain made it to the final round, where they contested for the trophy with England, who were coming from a strong 3-1 victory over one of the hosts, that is, Australia.
Spain made it to the trophy by 1-0 against the English side, courtesy of Olga Carmona for scoring the opener in the 29th minute. That was the only goal that stuck to the frames of the scoreboard throughout the event. Olga is now the 4th youngest player to have scored a goal in the final. She is also the 7th player in the women’s edition to score a goal in the Semi-Final and Final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
This is HISTORY, wrote the Spanish Royal Family on their X, formerly Twitter, account. They also called their side the best footballers in the world. For all the right reasons, one can say. This is the same team that was down 4-0 against the team that has won the tournament in the past – Japan. Sharing the same sentiment is the entire country that waved their country’s flag, including their current Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez.
Pedro has congratulated La Roja and called them a source of pride & inspiration. Interestingly, Sarina Wiegman is now the first coach to have finished the tournament as a runner-up two times. This edition saw her lead England. She was in charge of the Netherlands in 2019 when the team lost to the US in the Finals.
Olga brought up an opener in the 29th minute. This is the time when her left-footed effort found the bottom right corner of the net. She was assisted by Caldentey, who saw her strike right across the packed defensive wall. That was the first and the final blow. It was about sticking to the defense from that moment. Spain’s 4-3-3 was up against England’s 3-4-1-2. Odds were not particularly stacked against La Roja on betting sites for FIFA, but they were not stacked against England either. The game was actually expected to enter a penalty shootout.
Many assumptions were that the competition would heat up with a total goal of above 2.5.
Nevertheless, Spain clinching victory in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 against England has set the tone for women’s sports. Australia, for one, has come forward with a pledged fund of approximately $218 million. Anthony Albanese, the Australian Prime Minister, himself made the statement while interacting with the media on Saturday.
Keeping things under the flow are the fans who came in large numbers to over-occupy the stadium, which has a capacity of 17,456 people. Not to forget, FIFA Women’s World Cup succeeded in gathering an international following through the Internet and traditional media like television & radio.
